1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an application charging system adapted for use in a system for providing the user with an application and charging a fee for the use of the application to the user, an information processing apparatus therefor, a control method therefor and a memory medium storing a program therefor.
2. Related Background Art
There have conventionally been developed various technologies for enabling, in the system of the above-described type, the application service provider (hereinafter represented as ASP), who provides the application, to charge the fee for using the application to the user.
For example the U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,650 discloses a system capable of assigning a weight to each of the functions contained in the application, calculating a fee for using the application based on a count of the weights of the used functions, and charging such fee to the user. Thus the fee for using the application is calculated in the unit of each function in the application and increases as such functions are used more.
There is also known a system capable of calculating a fee only for a function actually used by the user among plural functions contained in the application and charging such fee to the user.
There is further known a system in which a user terminal informs an ASP terminal of the time of use at the execution of the application and the ASP terminal calculates a fee for using the application based on the time of use informed from the user terminal and charges such fee to the user.
There is further known a system in which the user acquires a ticket bearing a time permitting the use to use the application, and which thereby enables the use of the application for the time recorded on the ticket. Thus, such system calculates the fee for using the application according to the time of use of the application and charges such fee to the user.
There is further known a system capable of calculating a fee for the use of the application according to the number of uses thereof and charging such fee to the user.
Thus, in the conventional technologies described in the foregoing, the fee for using the application, to be charged to the user, is calculated (1) in the unit of the function used in the application, (2) according to the time of use of the application, or (3) according to the number of uses of the application.
In the case (1), for example if plural functions of the application are used for preparing a single file, the fee becomes higher because the fee has to be paid for such plural functions. Also the fee becomes higher than in a case of preparing two files utilizing a single function.
In the case (2), the user cannot be satisfied with the charged fee because the user cannot judge whether the time actually required by the user in the preparation of a file is correctly measured as the time of use. Also in case the user is not accustomed to the use of the application, there may be encountered a situation where the time of use becomes exceptionally long or the desired file cannot be prepared even after a long time of use, so that the user is dissatisfied with the charging system.
In the case (3), the fee becomes exceptionally high in case the desired file cannot be prepared after a single use of the application but can only be prepared after the use of the application plural times.